The IACMI-led ACE workforce training program, in partnership with the U.S. Defense Department, is out to rebuild America’s manufacturing industry. As America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) heads into Year Two, our workforce team is running wide open and achieving some major milestones along the way.
ACE is a national initiative to restore the prominence of the U.S. machine tools sector, has seen tremendous growth and opportunities within the last few weeks. Managed by IACMI, ACE is a workforce development program supporting metal and composites manufacturing.
New ACE Hub Named: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) has been named the first ACE hub beyond the initial testbed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The university will collaborate with local industry and community college partners in and around the Greensboro, North Carolina, area to explore workforce training opportunities.
ACE Online Regs Top 2,000: Online training initiative continues to grow, showing an increase in registration for 66 consecutive weeks. As of March 16, total registrations for the innovative online training program were at 2,159, including engagement from 49 states (1,485 students and 674 industry participants).
ACE Bootcamps 2022 Have Begun: The first 2022 ACE bootcamp in Knoxville, TN, is off to a great start! Four high school students are thrilled to spend their spring break learning Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining skills. Within hours, they’re already examining a metal part for an oscillating piston air engine that they’ve machined themselves.
ACE Presence at FIRST Robotics Competition Tournament: If CNC machines are really robots in a box, then the Smoky Mountains Regional tournament for FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is the place for ACE to be. ACE trainers and representatives are interacting with students, parents, and robot enthusiasts from 45 FRC teams from as far away as Brazil.
Learn more about ACE at iacmi.org/ace.